Re: XML dumping and GraphViz/VCG in the GCC ast-optimizer-branch

[James Michael DuPont <mdupont777@yahoo.com>]

--- Robert Dewar <dewar@gnat.com> wrote:
> <<I am not planning in any way to create non-free software, just
> pointing
> out that the .dot files are a file format that is read by the
> non-free
> software GraphViz. It strikes me funny that the gcc would explicitly
> support a non-free software, and serve it files.
> >>
> 
> This is confused, it is not at all correct to say that gcc is
> "explicitly
> supporting a non-free software and serving it files". If gcc is used
> int
> this way, it might well be a copyright violation. And the only way to
> determine this would be through litigation. Certainly there is no
> policy
> statement that says that this is permissible.

Wait a second... 
What other way to use these .dot files, but to feed them to the dot
program? 

"If the gcc is used in this way"? 
it modified by one of the gcc developers to be used that way. 

This issue is with the dump-tree-dot function.
It used to be named dump-tree-graphviz !

Diego has tried to remove references to the origins 
of this tool, but all I can say is that support GraphViz is much less
in line with FSF policy then by trying to replace it.

See the change logs:
2002-05-02
* tree-dump.c (dump_files): Rename -fdump-tree-graphviz to
	-fdump-tree-dot.
2001-08-20
   the code was first added.

So, I would say that proverbial right hand does not know what the left
hand is doing. 

mike


=====
James Michael DuPont
http://introspector.sourceforge.net/

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